Chaffey-Burke Elementary School PAC Meeting Monday, February 1, 2010 7 pm in School Library Minutes

Welcome: Mary MacKillop, Co-Chair 

Mary opened the meeting at 7:00pm, 7 parents and 2 staff members were in attendance

Approval of Minutes 

The minutes from the January 2010 PAC Meeting were moved by Jean Wong to be accepted as circulated, seconded by Nicole Geyer. Hearing no opposition, minutes were approved.

Principal’s Report – Kathie Cornell   

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Curtains – Kathie has already received the measurements. She will be submitting the cost estimate to the district as part of a cost-sharing proposal. Kathie urged parents to examine all aspects of learning for their children when choosing a school; and encourages parents to speak with parents and teachers at the school to gain a better perspective rather than just rely on the FSA scores. Foundation Skills Assessment testing (FSAs) will be taking place for Grade 4 and Grade 7 students in February. Correspondence from the BC Teachers Federation not supporting the testing will be sent to all parents of students in these grades but teachers are prohibited from sharing their opinions with the students. Unless students have a special need that prohibits testing or are at a particular stage of ESL development, all children in these grades are expected to participate. Parents may write to the Principal requesting their children be exempt from writing FSAs. Each request is processed and considered. A satisfaction survey post testing will be sent electronically to parents/guardians. The Olympic Torch Relay will take place up Willingdon Avenue on February 11. Chaffey-Burke students, with assistance from parents/teachers will come out and watch the Torch Run. Children are encouraged to dress in red and white. Discussion around the possibility of an Inukshuk being assembled/built for the front of the school was raised as Kathie Cornell has a contact but cost and timing may prevent such a plan. Fundraising for Haiti has raised over $1,700 and more efforts including this Thursday’s PJ day with hot chocolate will take place. Kathie noted that children at the school seem to have a clear understanding of the relief efforts and the devastation. School beautification continues, including plans for inside foyer painted signs, new banners, and more promotion around Chaffey-Burke Chargers. Strong Start presentation was very successful and the program was extremely well received and executed at Chaffey-Burke. Great work to Roz who leads this initiative. Pat Parker, Phys Ed teacher invited kindergarten and grade one parents to attend classes in the Gym with their children. Very well received and an excellent example of the learning that occurs in these classes. The session is held four times a year.

Head Teacher Report – Franka Raynier   

Chinese New Year Plans well underway – Thanks to Serina Chen who supplied artwork and a banner for a class project and her terrific leadership towards this February event. Children are currently working on flags for the Parade of Nations. They are learning the symbols of the Olympics, its history, and the history of Vancouver. Primary classes will be doing a day-by-day journal and reflections. Intermediate classes will be doing reflection questions each day and keeping track of medal counts.

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Nicole suggested a website link to the Olympics games and events at http://www.vancouver2010.com/ . It was recommended that Chaffey consider some type of function honouring the closing ceremony. The torch relay will be passing through Willingdon at around 12:15pm on Feb 11, 2010. An interactive map of the torch relay route can be found at http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010information/olympic-torch-relay/olympic-torch-relay-interactive-map/. Donna Wong knows a past Olympics Medallist who may be interested in meeting the children at Chaffey Burke. More information to come. The group also discussed the continued population growth in the community. For September, Kathie advised that Chaffey-Burke will be up to 23 divisions and portables may have to be brought in should the number of students increase. Other elementary schools such as Marlborough, Maywood, and Inman are at maximum capacity.

Fundraising – Nicole Geyer      

Burnaby Express Hockey team had an awesome game on January 24, 2010 winning 5-2; parents and children had fun watching. The attendance was not high but everyone had a great time watching the awesome game. The Hockey game earned a profit of $224. This will be the last year for this fundraiser, as the team will be moving to Coquitlam. Nicole advised that pictures were taken of the players playing hockey and reading to the schoolchildren. Permission will be sought from parents for the school to display these pictures at school. Nicole thanked the family who donated $50 through the Direct Donation letter. Fun Fair – Nicole announced that the theme for the fun fair had been determined. “Green and Groovy” had been selected from student submissions. The selected entry was submitted by Madeleine Kum. Students will now be working to create the logo. Donna Wong reported that corporate donations are slowly coming in. Due to the recession, the donations have not been as generous as anticipated. Nicole suggested to direct the focus on services in the community.

DPAC – Donna Wong     

Donna Wong reported that the district is planning to hold a session for parents talking about how children learn differently in preparation for the upcoming change in the math curriculum. There was an excellent presentation on the activities relating to the Olympics. Some schools are taking their children to the Paralympics. A session on an edible garden will be offered. There will be a free parent session at Burnaby Mountain on teaching money management to children. There were hors d’oeuvres served at the meeting by the ACE IT cooking program.

Earthquake Preparedness – Mary MacKillop on behalf of Dawayne Wurtz 

Mary advised the committed that volunteers are urgently needed to help in this area. Please contact Dawayne.

Special Lunch – Mary MacKillop on behalf of Ellen Wong 

Vegetarian lunch options will be offered in the next batch of special lunches. Forms will go out in March. Thanks again to Ellen Wong for her leadership in this program. Any feedback can be shared with her through the PAC mailbox.

Treasurer’s Report – Jean Wong 

Jean reported that the hot dog lunch is the most profitable.

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$250 received from Coast Capital, Jean thanked Elaine Dun for the donation. $720 earthquake monies received. After purchasing food supplies, the net profit is $386 allowing a possible opportunity to purchase one or two new tents. Kathie reminded the committee about the Winit awards program. The layout and recording need improvement so that the process can be more efficient. Nicole offered to help check inventory and categorize items.

Playground Update – Mary MacKillop and Nicole Geyer 

Mary reported that Nicole and Jake conducted research on outdoor elements suitable for our vision of a unique play space to replace the final playground at Chaffey. The proposal will be displayed on the site and regular updates will be posted.

School Planning Council – Kathie Cornell 

Nothing to report.

Other Business  

Mary thanked Boaz Wong for setting up the blog site for parent communication purposes. It functions similar but better than the listserv. Once testing is complete, parents will receive an email directing them to the site for information. Milk and juice and veggie programs need more volunteers for backup purposes.

Meeting adjourned at 7:50pm. Next PAC Meeting: Monday, March 1, 2010 in the library at 7:00pm. Agenda will be determined at a later date. Refreshments: A special thank you to Mary MacKillop, Jean Wong, and Nicole Geyer for the refreshments. Elizabeth Moy will bring treats for the next meeting. Respectfully recorded, Mary MacKillop and Elizabeth Moy